Member of the DPR Agrarian Committee: Farmers Must Be the Main Subject of National Food Development

Two young people show the chili results of the trial in Wongsorejo, Banyuwangi, East Java, Wednesday (16/4/2025). ANTARA FOTO/Budi Candra Setya/Spt.

Member of the Agrarian Committee of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, Azis Subekti, emphasized that farmers must be made the main subject of national food development, if the goal of food sovereignty is to be achieved.

According to him, farmers should not only be used as policy objects such as program implementers, assistance recipients, or labor on land that they do not control.

"Farmers must be placed as the main subject. The subject means having clear rights to his land, having the space to determine his choice of his tanin business, having bargaining power in the market, and really enjoying the added value of his hard work," Azis told reporters, Monday, December 15.

Azis emphasized that increasing food production without accompanying protection for farmers would make the food system fragile. "When production costs rise, land is under pressure, or prices fall, small farmers are always the most affected," he said.

The member of Commission II of the DPR also revealed data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) for the period 2023-2025 which showed the strategic role of Central Java as a food support for the nation. In 2023, said Azis, the productivity of Central Java rice was recorded at 55.24 quintals per hectare with a production of 9.06 million tons.

Then in 2024, productivity increased to 57.19 quintals per hectare, but production decreased due to a shrinking harvest area.

Meanwhile, in 2025, the harvest area will increase again and production is projected to reach 9.38 million tons.

"The message is clear, productivity alone is not enough when land is increasingly squeezed, production costs swell, and farmers have no certainty of business," said Azis.

The message is clear, said Azis.

English: : Azis said that placing farmers as subjects is not enough just by chasing production figures. According to him, food policies including large-scale programs such as food estates, must go hand in hand with equitable agrarian reform.

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: "Without reforming the structure of land ownership, the food project risks widening agrarian conflicts, eliminating small farmers, and adding ecological pressure," said the Gerindra Legislator from the Central Java District.

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: English: : Not only that, continued Azis, the food issue cannot be separated from environmental issues. He said, the data on landslide incidents in 2024 in the Central Java VI region, such as Wonosobo and Magelang, was a warning that the food security agenda must be integrated with disaster mitigation and environmental protection.

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"Therefore, food policy should not be rice-centric. Food diversification and strengthening horticulture are not accessories, but strategies to maintain farmers' income while maintaining supply," said Azis.

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English: Further, Azis encouraged a number of steps that the government must take, ranging from accelerating agrarian reform for small farmers, arranging fair partnerships, strengthening basic agricultural infrastructure, to environmental protection integrated into food policies.

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" : English: : He added that food security is not only measured by the size of production, but also by the fairness of land ownership structures and protection for farmers.

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"If farmers are placed as subjects, food policies will be more inclusive, stronger, and more resilient. And if the center-area synergy runs from the beginning, with local governments involved and farmers placed on policy priorities, then food security development will really lead to the welfare of Indonesian farmers," concluded Azis.